ABSTRACT
People develop ethical standards based on myriad and often subtle factors inherent in each culture. Cultural components such as ethnicity, religion, politics, social status, sex, group affiliation, and legal system all contribute to an individual’s standard of ethical behavior. Culture can be defined as a set of values, beliefs, rules, and institutions held by a specific group of people. Ethics is the study of what constitutes right or wrong behavior. In the workplace, employee behavior is affected by the employee’s specific culture and the company’s own ethical standards and codes of conduct. When that employee manages or works abroad, the culture into which he or she goes increases the complexity of that individual’s ethical decisionmaking process. In today’s global business environment, people often work in many cultures, confronting and adapting to different standards and different expectations of ethical behavior.
